War on Coronavirus
2389 Words
On 16th March, 2020 there was a directive from the Government to close down schools on 18th the same month.
The same directive was asking shut down of universities in the country on Friday 20th. My university admin decided to close down indefinitely the university where I studied immediately within the same day the directive was out.
It has affected my life and my studies just as many people around the world. The new virus, Corona Virus, Covid19 being its scientific name was only a few months old, but it already killed more than 11,000 people as I compile this memoire of mine.
On 18th March, at around noon as I was staying at home, a friend of mine, name withheld, gave me a call. He told me to come over and we do Corona Virus awareness.
I had no option but to go out and become a first responder myself because it was already affecting me. I could not go out to work and that has been having a negative toll on my livelihood. I was doing so to save my life and the humanity.
When we met in the afternoon somewhere in Nairobi’s Eastleigh Estate, we shared what we wanted to do with another friend of his.
He made fun of us saying ‘I would rather contribute some money for Quranic verses to be read on you’.
He meant it was not right to carry-out the awareness against the dreadful virus or it was us who lacked enough resources to carry it out. I say this because many people were still in denial that the outbreak was so dangerous.
But for us all in all we were doing what is in our means to warn people against the virus. In the afternoon, we have been trying to search a table to use as information desk.
We embarked our journey from 10th Street in Eastleigh following taking Ethiopian Coffee (Abyssinian Coffee) in one of the cafes. Our criticizing friend took Kado Kado, a local tea.
On our way to Third Street, we met another friend who also made jokes on our endeavor. Some others also mocked us. ‘This is not a disease that affects Somalis; this is not a disease that affects Muslims’. But to us a disease is a disease. It could be contracted by anyone regardless of who they are if exposed to them.
Suppose if a university graduate with no swimming skills and an illiterate who knows swimming go to the river to cross. When they go in it, the illiterate swims to the other side of the river while the graduate may drown.
The day ended like that. The next morning, my newly found colleague and I set off to the town center where we wanted to meet with some NGO personnel with whom we could carry out the awareness.
The Jamia Mosque, the biggest mosque was already closed down so we had to pray in one of the offices in the Central District.
It was on Thursday.
After prayers, we called one of them who we were to meet there but he was nowhere to be seen.We called and called but was not picking the phone.
So, we at last decided to sms him. If I could remember what I wrote in the sms, it was like this:“We are carrying out Corona Virus Awareness, so we seek cooperation with your organization’.
He responded by calling us. He told us to hang around as he decided to send a person to talk to us on the matter to further elaborate our action points or plan of actions.
We entered in one of the hotels.
And by the way don’t be surprised, despite all the warning, matatus (local mini buses used as public transport in Kenya), hotels and most of the businesses were operating.
However, it would never be the same. Many were living in denial of the unfolding danger but many others were feeling the pinch. We took our lunch at the balcony of the restaurant.
“Should we eat from same plate or we take from separate plates?” My friend asked. I suggested we eat separately from different plates. I told him we should set a nice example.
‘We should practice social distancing ourselves; it should start with us”. I said. We could see some people selling masks and hand sanitizers outside, some hitting their legs with each other to great each other to avoid shaking hands. It was right gesture, I thought.
The gentleman called again but told us the man who he sent to meet us proceeded and went to Eastleigh, so we should go and meet him there. We went back to Eastleigh.
We alighted off a matatu near the roundabout in Eastleigh. We entered Yara Plaza Mosque in Eastleigh where we suddenly met with our friend, one of those two we met on the previous day when we were in search of the stand materials, the table rather.
He and another friend of his blushed a bit and we continued to exchange ideas on the virus and the shock waves it was sending.
After Asar (Afternoon Prayers), we went out of the mosque where we saw along Second Avenue the friend who first made laughing stock out of us.
He made the same jokes. “I told them they needed Quran. I will pay the money so that Quran can be read on them’. The same old jokes. It was excuse of many to smile before the cause of deaths in the world.
I have a small non-governmental organization, newly formed for translating humanitarian information and amplifying humanitarian communication by the name HTS.
The charity was also meant to serve Somalis in Kenya and Somalia (and in the long run all Somali speakers around the world including those in as far as Minnesota and Ohio in the United States of America by doing humanitarian communication and serious awareness like this one.
During the afternoon, we went to a local printer, where they print out slogans on T-shirts and banners. We asked about the prices of services. A lady there told us to come with few thousands of Kenya Shilling for printing out on 5 to 10 T-Shirts and for a one meter banner.
I chipped out a few thousands out of my meager saving to do the work as my friend exhausted his already. He was generous enough to buy me cups of tea and coffee, pay my lunch and pay the fares. But he was also facing serious shortage of finances.
The entire world has been garbling with Corona Virus indeed.
Late in the afternoon at nearly dusk, we met with the gentleman the NGO sent.
However, we could not carry out the awareness with his NGO due to unavoidable circumstance. But he advised us that we could get his back if we wanted to make the awareness regional and do it in Baidoa Somalia as well.
At night, we bought some T-shirts and in the next morning we took them for printing. That night we also wrote Corona Virus Awareness messages both in English and in Somali.
They include the following:
Watch Out! Corona Virus Kills!1. WASH HANDS WITH SOAP and water2. Put some alcohol sterilizer on your hands to clean them (if you can afford); otherwise wash with soap and water3.Wear Mask on your nose and mouth4. If you have the slightest signs or symptoms of any ailments or feeling unwell, avoid coming to public places like hotels and the market, etc5. People above the age of 60 years should avoid coming to public places like hotels, the market, etc6. Children below the age of 10 years should not come to public places or crowded places during the outbreak7. Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and sneeze away from the people8. Avoid handshakes and hugs9. Mosques and other public places should be disinfected before and after use10. Avoid grouping and crowds11. People in hotels should not eat from one plate (they should eat from separate plates) and should be distant from one another (social distancing)12. People should give spaces of almost one meter between each other when conversingNB: Corona Virus (Covid19) is real, it killed thousands worldwide; it killed almost 500 people in Italy in one day recently. In Kenya the recorded No. of Corona Virus patients stands at 7 persons as we write these alerts. Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti have also recorded the first cases of the virus. More than half the nations of Africa have recorded Corona Virus cases in their countries. UN called Africa, the least affected continent so-far to prepare for the worst.HTS, Amplifying Humanitarian Communication and Awareness on Corona Virus; Support our work
Although, we wrote our MPesa Number in full there up on the alert slips, no one dared to assist. We did not have official charity bank account yet although the charity was fully registered.
I had more than Ksh25,000 (about $250) to settle as University Fee once the varsities would be allowed to reopen.
So, I was using my resources sparingly or was stingy with them!We used those alerts, courtesy of some other humanitarians who prepared them.See more alerts we have used below:Ø CORONA VIRUS WHEN IT FALLS ON A METAL SURFACE, IT WILL LIVE 12 HOURS, SO WASHING HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER WELL IS ENOUGH.Ø CORONA VIRUS WHEN IT FALLS ON FABRIC REMAINS 9 HOURS, SO WASHING CLOTHES OR BEING EXPOSED TO THE SUN FOR TWO HOURS MEETS THE PURPOSE OF KILLING IT.Ø THE CORONA VIRUS DOES NOT SETTLE IN THE AIR BUT IS GROUNDED, SO IT IS NOT TRANSMITTED BY AIR.Ø IF THE CORONA VIRUS IS EXPOSED TO A TEMPERATURE OF 26-27 DEGREES CELCIUS, IT WILL BE KILLED. AS IT DOES NOT LIVE IN HOT REGIONS, ALSO DRINKING HOT WATER AND SUN EXPOSURE WILL DO THE TRICK AND STAYING AWAY FROM ICE CREAM AND COLD FOOD DURING THE OUTBREAK IS ADVISED.Ø CORONA VIRUS (COVID-19) IS LARGE IN SIZE WHERE THE CELL DIAMETER IS 400-500 MICRO AND FOR THIS REASON ANY MASK PREVENTS ITS ENTRY.Ø CORONA VIRUS LIVES ON THE HANDS FOR 10 MINUTES, SO PUTTING AN ALCOHOL STERILIZER IN THE POCKET MEETS THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTION.Ø ADHERING TO THESE INSRUCTIONS FULFILLS THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING VIRUSES.We have also written a concept note for the priceless project. See below the budget we have written for it.
Hand sanitizers
100 pieces@200
Ksh20,000
Spraying gadgets for disinfection
10pcs@3000
Ksh30,000
Face Masks
1000pcs@100
Ksh100,000
Gloves
1000pcs@50
Ksh50,000
Dustbins (for disposing off used gloves)
10pcs@450
Ksh4500
Tents for information desks
4pcs@10,000
Ksh40,000
Tables for stands
4pcs@3500
Ksh14,000
Chairs
10pcs@3000
Ksh30,000
Banners
10pcs@1000
Ksh10,000
T-shirts (for volunteers-printed)
20pcs@500
Ksh10,000
Microphones for raising awareness
3pcs@11000
Ksh33,000
Printing of awareness slips
1000pcs@10
Ksh10,000
Stickers
100pcs@50
Ksh5000
Cars (for moving the awareness around)
2cars@5000per day for 30 days
Ksh300,000
Incentives for volunteers
15volunteers@1000 per days for 30days
Ksh450,000
Total:
Ksh1,106,500
We circulated the concept note through email among all the humanitarians we know. So-far no tangible response.Although, it was during the weekend when we sent it to the NGOS and Donors, we are yet to find those useful funds up there in the budget which amount to just slightly more than eleven thousand United States Dollars.Auto responses we got included “we don’t answer unsolicited e-mails” and out of office messages! What a heartbreaking messages! Sometimes, I wonder whether Donors and the humanitarian community are for real.
Most of the viable projects are left behind with no funds while replicated ones with little or no use for humanity are funded.But this time, I could feel pity for the humanitarian community though because some of the humanitarians and philanthropists have hibernated as we found emails which read like, ‘I am working from home because of the Corona Virus outbreak.
You may call me on my mobile No. such and such”.They have self-quarantined. I have been working as a humanitarian worker on and off for a period of decade long and knew taking breaks for no reason was not allowed in some NGOs. Malingering was discouraged in those organizations.
Everything done by humanitarians is not dead aid. Let us give credit where it is due!I am now here trying not to sit back but contribute to curbing the deadly virus plaguing the entire world. It was indeed an epidemic like no other.
I have never seen an outbreak like this travelling across all the continents of the world in my life before.I trained as journalist, as a humanitarian and as a communication specialist. Now, I am here with my friends to save lives.
I want to combine all of these fields to contribute to the efforts to overcome the virus and its problems. I am now using what is called New Journalism, in this book of mine for those who know.Many are in denial that it is as serious virus as reported by the international media and social media.
Many are dancing before death indeed!In my community, the Somali, many have taken it seriously but many lightly, trying to dismiss the serious note. Many imams of mosques have decided to continue opening the mosques for congregations.
This seems dangerous and taking risks for nothing to many doctors and other medical personnel. However, one of the Sheikhs in the community, a University Professor said it should be taken seriously and that mosques should remain close or be closed till the outbreak is over for the purpose of social distancing.
He alluded to what has been done during a plague by one of the leaders in the Islamic reign in Syria which ended the epidemic like this one. He said he quarantined many people on mountains, with a distance with one another up until the problem was over.
On Friday 20th March 2020, I did wear one of the printed T-Shirts ready to carry out the physical work of the awareness myself. My colleague in the awareness was at that time gone to his house to rest a bit or get some errands done.
I passed through the streets of Eastleigh, some of them closed with believers for the Friday prayers. It was around 1.30 PM local time.
- Writer
